A First Time for Everything
by Imperium42
Summary: What do a bunch of U.A. students get up to in their free time? Exactly what you'd expect, and more. First-time drinking, romance confusion, groupchats, movie nights, and all the rest of the moments in between 1-A's adventures. Turns out, no one's good at handling their alcohol, or their feelings. [Discontinued]
1. Towels and Pancakes

_**Hey everyone! This is my attempt at a slice of life type story dealing with 1-A's free time that starts off fluffy but gradually adds more romance and drama, so the tone of this chapter is definitely a lot lighter than some (not all) of the later ones, just as an advance warning, so stick around if you're here for the ships. In terms of pairings, the story mainly starts off pretty Izuku/Ochako heavy, but a lot more** **will be introduced as it goes on, including BakuDeku, Ochako/Tsuyu, Momo/Jiro, Tsuyu/Tokoyami, and others, and the intensity of the romances will gradually increase. Basically, these kids are hormonal messes. Enjoy!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Towels and Pancakes**

The first raindrop hit Midoriya Izuku squarely in the nose as he gulped down water between kicks, and at first, he thought his red and blue All Might-branded bottle had simply started leaking. He had been using the thing practically nonstop since he started his training last year, after all- the bright yellow letters spelling out 'PLUS ULTRA!' on the side had faded so much they were almost illegible by now. He set it aside, glanced down at his notebook, and did another spiraling roundhouse, feeling the energy of Full Cowling coursing gently through his limbs, a tingling, invigorating sensation that spurred him to keep going despite the ache in his muscles. _I have to get the form perfect,_ he told himself, gritting his teeth. _Just like Iida with Recipro Burst. It has to be second nature._ Then another drop burst on his cheek, and a third on his outstretched leg. By the time he lifted his gaze up to the thick grey clouds gathering overhead, there were dozens of them falling everywhere, and he let out a yelp as his eyes shot to his notebook, still lying open and face-up in the grass.

He dived to shield it with his body, but before he could reach it, a white stripe flashed in front of his eyes, and the notebook was being tossed up into the air by a long strand of tape. Before Izuku could cry out in shock, there was another blur, and Tsuyu Asui's tongue wrapped firmly around the book before pulling it back to where she and Sero Hanta were standing on the dorm's front porch, amused looks on both their faces.

"Nice work, Asui-san!" Hanta cried once the notebook was safely in hand, high fiving her and pumping his fist. "Our quirks work really well together, we should use that combo move at the licensing exam!"

"I agree, but call me Tsu-chan," she replied, one finger to her mouth, then turned back to Izuku. "Midoriya, you should come on inside, it's pouring out here."

She was right- by now the rain had turned into a deluge, and he was fairly sure that he could hear the dull rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance.

"Yeah, and you missed breakfast!" Sero added, rubbing his stomach. "Sato and Hagakure made pancakes and eggs for everyone, and Kirishima cooked sausages! There might still be some left!"

"I think I'll just lay here for another minute," he called weakly, face down and eagle spread on the grass as the rain pounded a dull drumbeat on his back. It was 11AM on a Saturday morning, but Izuku had been training since 8:00- a late start by his standards. Class 1-A's provisional license exam, originally scheduled for yesterday, had been postponed by a week due to technical difficulties with the arena; he had vowed to make the most of his extra time by refining Shoot Style to perfection. After three hours of almost nonstop practice, he was so soaked with sweat that the downpour wasn't making too much of a difference when it came to how wet his clothes were, and the grass was more comfortable than it had any right to be.

"Nope, you're coming with us," Tsuyu croaked, wrapping her tongue around Midoriya's waist and yanking him up and onto his feet before he had time to protest. "You need some rest somewhere you don't have a chance of getting struck by lightning. Besides, you've been distracting Ochako all morning. She could barely go five minutes during breakfast without looking out the window at you."

Midoriya had been walking towards the porch, but at hearing this he tripped on the top step and nearly fell, his face red and his eyes wide.

"W-what do you mean, distracted by me?!"

Asui opened her mouth again to explain, but Sero quickly shushed her, a conspiratorial grin on his face.

"I still think we should let him work it out on his own. Come on, Midoriya, the sausage is probably almost cold by now!"

"But if she was looking out the window at me, she was probably just watching my combat form for when she practices. She's been really good at martial arts ever since her internship with Gunhead- I should probably ask her for advice too! I wonder how his style is different from other fighter-type heroes, knowing his quirk it probably involves a lot more reliance on ranged support…" Izuku quickly devolved into an intense bout of muttering as his friends practically dragged him inside, his eyebrows knit in thought.

Just as Tsuyu was about to scold him for it, though, he suddenly remembered something, and stopped halfway up the flight of stairs to the common room.

"Wait, Asui-san, my notebook! You still have it, right?"

"I'll give it to you if you promise to call me Tsu-chan for the rest of the week," she replied, tilting her head to one side.

Izuku enthusiastically gave her his word, but when she handed the book back to him he looked as if he'd been shot.

"Two of the pages are almost ripped out," he said, dejected. "And it still managed to get wet…" Izuku whimpered as he saw a glob of what could only be Tsuyu's saliva blotting out one of his illustrations of his new support item. "…and sticky."

"My bad, Midoriya," Sero replied as they continued up the stairs. "I kinda started the whole using-our-quirks-to-get-it-for-you thing, I guess I just forgot how fragile it was and how much those notebooks mean to you."

"He'll be fine," Asui cut in, as blunt as ever. "I'll go ask Momo to make a space heater and some glue so we can dry it off and repair it, though."

About half the class was still lounging around the common room kitchen area when they walked in; Iida was the first to notice them, and he rushed over to Izuku right away.

"Midoriya, you're soaking wet! Were you practicing in this weather?! You're going to catch pneumonia right before the licensing exam if you're not careful!" Tenya's arm bounced up and down in his traditional fashion as he spoke, and Izuku couldn't help but smile at his genuine concern.

"It's ok, Iida, I-"

"Uraraka, get Midoriya some towels from the laundry room right away! His career is in jeopardy!"

Ochako had been talking with Hagakure and Mina over by the counter, but glanced up when she heard her name, first at Iida, then at Midoriya. At first she smiled at the sight of him, but then her vision shifted up and down his body; in a moment of horror, he realized that his grey t-shirt was so thoroughly soaked that the outline of his muscles was clearly visible, and they both turned bright red at the same instant.

"S-sure, no problem," she stammered, quickly looking back to Iida. "D-does anyone else want some towels too?"

It took her a moment for her to realize how silly her question sounded, but Mina had already burst out in laughter by then, and Kaminari and Jiro were sniggering over by the fridge.

"Yup, because there sure are a lot of us who are soaking wet in here," Kyoka finally managed, holding a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter as her gaze drifted between Ochako and Izuku.

"I'll take one!" Hagakure offered in support, one arm of her floating t-shirt lifting up in the air. "The towels in this dorm are so nice and cozy, especially when they're warm!"

"Hell yeah, they're super soft!" Kirishima called from one of the couches. "If it's a fresh load grab me one too!"

"I will also have one!" Iida cried. "I'm going downstairs to the gym in a few minutes!"

Uraraka looked a good deal less embarrassed after the additional requests, and the red faded a bit from her cheeks.

"Ok, four towels! Be right back!"

"Now let's get some food in you," Sero declared once she was gone, nudging Izuku over toward the kitchen counter. "Sato, Hagakure, are there any leftovers? I don't think Midoriya's eaten since dawn, or whenever he wakes up to practice these days."

"He's in luck!" Toru said enthusiastically, shooing Kaminari away from the fridge before retrieving two tupperware containers from inside. "There's still one pancake left, and some eggs!"

"I can bake some more for you if one isn't enough," Sato offered. "I think I still have some batter left in there too, and I could always use the practice."

"No, no, it's really ok!" Izuku slipped past Sero and began to walk towards his room, not wanting to have to deal with the awkwardness of having to talk to Uraraka again until he had at least changed and taken a few minutes of mental preparation. "I had some tamago gohan when I got up, so I'm not even that hungry…"

Iida was there to block his path, though, his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.

"That was before you practiced all morning! You're on a strenuous training schedule, Midoriya, you need a high-calorie diet to maintain your health- I won't take no for an answer!"

 _Guess I'm not getting out of this one, huh?_ Conceding defeat, Midoriya took a seat at the counter while Hagakure warmed up a pancake on one plate and two eggs on another; when she set them in front of them, she had drawn a smiley face in syrup on the pancake, and on the eggs, a heart made out of ketchup, with some barely legible kanji squiggled inside.

"I plus…" he squinted to read it, murmuring out loud. "O! Oh!" Suddenly his face was beet red again, and he nearly dropped his fork. "Hagakure-san! Is this…?!"

"It's exactly what you think it is, silly!" He could hear her clap her hands together, and Mina grinned knowingly as she walked up beside their invisible classmate.

"You two have been so obvious lately, a few of us have taken it upon ourselves to help you out, since it's pretty clear neither of you have any idea what you're doing."

A hand clapped onto Izuku's shoulder from behind, and he turned around to find Kirishima and smiling back at him, with Kaminari trailing close behind.

"Don't worry bro, we have your back. Just let us know if you need any tips."

"I don't think he needs too much help when he's got all this going on," Denki added smugly, darting behind Midoriya and patting his hands along the hardened muscles visible through his still-dripping shirt. "Goddamn, Izuku, you gotta tell me your workout routine!"

"Right?!" Ashido cried, looking pointedly at Izuku's abs over the countertop. "She's one lucky girl alright, I can't believe I never noticed before!"

"G-guys, I need to uh… eat!" All the sudden attention was making Midoriya incredibly flustered, and now Kaminari was giving him flashbacks to Hatsume Mei and her own touchy-feely ways of "sizing him up" for her babies. _Where's Iida when I need him to get a conversation back on track?!_ Tenya was currently distracted talking to Sato and Jiro on the other side of the kitchen, or he would surely have deemed all this inappropriate by now.

"But these abs are the real thing, though!" Kaminari continued, not taking the hint. "I mean, I-"

"Hold up, the _fuck_ are y'all saying about Deku?"

Katsuki Bakugo had been minding his own business playing video games on one of the couches for the duration of the conversation, but something about hearing Midoriya praised had clearly set him on edge.

"Kacchan!" Izuku squeaked, wishing he was still outside in the pouring rain. A lightning strike would be preferable to this. "They were just-"

"You dumbasses don't know what real muscle looks like if you think that's it," he scoffed, ignoring Midoriya completely. "I still don't know whose dick he sucked to get anywhere close to fit enough to pass the entrance exam. You should have seen Deku back when he was a scrawny fucking twig. He still shakes like one, after all."

He stormed off toward his room after that, leaving the mood effectively dead behind him. Kirishima apologized quietly on Bakugo's behalf before going after him to calm him down, and the group remained in an awkward silence until Uraraka returned a few moments later with an armful of fluffy white towels and a silly smile on her face.

"Here they are! One for you, Toru, and one for you, Iida, and one for… where did Kirishima go?"

The others had rejoined them when she arrived, and Tenya's hand shot up at Ochako's confusion.

"Don't worry, I'll go and find him!"

He darted off before Kaminari could say anything to stop him; meanwhile, Izuku was in the process of wolfing down his eggs before Uraraka could see the heart and kanji on them. He was only about halfway finished by the time she stepped up beside him, but he managed to smear what was left of the heart with his fork before turning to greet her.

"And one for you, Deku." Her cheeks had turned a light pink again, and suddenly Izuku was much more conscious of his muscles than he had been even when Denki was groping them. He tried to mumble a thank-you out of instinct, only to be forced to quickly swallow when he realized his mouth was still full of food.

"T-thank you, Uraraka!"

Their fingers brushed ever so slightly against each other as he took the towel from her hands, but before either of them could bother with being embarrassed, Sato called out triumphantly from the fridge.

"Guys, I had a lot more batter left than I thought! This is enough for at least ten more!"

Almost everyone in the kitchen exchanged a knowing glance, but Kaminari was the first to shout ' _SECONDS!'_ with a pump of his fist. Soon enough the counter was crowded with people clamoring for another pancake, and a few had even emerged from their rooms to investigate the commotion. With four hands at the tips of his dupli-arms, Shoji was soon appointed Sato's sous chef as he took command of the stovetop once again, while Ojiro tried his best to make small talk with Hagakure at the edge of the group. Todoroki watched from the edge of the common area for a moment as the chaos unfolded, but he returned to his room with an impassionate sigh to continue his morning meditations before too long.

Midoriya was grateful that the attention had finally shifted away from him, and continued to eat in peace until Yaoyorozu and Asui emerged with his repaired notebook, after which he began to excitedly show them some of the notes from other sections.

"I was actually rewatching one of Gang Orca's fights last night, and I noticed that one of the main sidekicks from his agency has this awesome kick move that they use with a momentum-enhancing quirk, so I sketched out the basic technique, and-"

"Midoriya, this is all very impressive," Tsuyu butted in, "but no offense, it's not a school day, and I think Momo and I just want to get some pancakes before they're gone, ribbit."

Yaoyorozu, who up until then was mostly nodding politely at Izuku's enthusiastic explanations, suddenly nodded much more vigorously than she had been, and within moments she had rounded the counter with outstretched hands.

"Sorry," Sato grunted, "but we just ran out."

Noticing the look of devastation on Momo's face, Jiro quickly offered up her own, and the two wasted no time getting into into an argument about whether or not they should split it, and what the portions should be if they did. Asui, meanwhile, took a much more direct approach, snatching a pancake straight from Kaminari's plate with her tongue and depositing it directly into her mouth.

"Wh- huh?! Asui-san, how could you do this to me?!" He dropped to his knees, a look of utter betrayal on his face.

"I only had one this morning and you had three, ribbit. Seems fair to me."

Sero and Ojiro, who had also missed out on the second round, sidled up to Denki and patted his shoulders.

"It's ok, bro, we know how you feel."

"Yeah, these things happen. Let's order some takoyaki or something together in a few."

The three entered a conciliatory group bro hug as their more fortunate classmates began to eat in earnest, and soon ended up retreating to Kaminari's room to make their lunch plans. Half an hour later, after Mina discovered an unopened box of popsicles in the freezer and Jiro decided to thaw out a frozen pack of mochi, everyone left in the kitchen was stuffed, with most of the group lounging around the couches or chairs in various stages of a food coma.

"I don't think I'll be able to move for hours," Hagakure huffed from where she was lying on Mina's lap, two floating shoes kicking around in the air.

"That makes two of us," Ashido replied. "But that raises the question, what are we gonna do today? It's a Saturday, but it's still pouring outside."

Lying back-to-back with Kyoka, Yaoyorozu shrugged and looked up from the book she had been reading.

"How about the mall? We didn't really get to enjoy it last time we went as a group."

Even though he knew that no one blamed him for the incident with Shigaraki, Izuku's face still flushed when all the eyes in the room drifted to him. _I'm so sorry about that,_ he started to say, but then he realized that his classmates were silently asking for his permission, not an apology.

"S-sure, the mall sounds great!"

* * *

 _ **Feel free to let me know in the reviews if you have any feedback or questions, constructive or otherwise! Will probably updating with the mall outing pretty soon.**_


	2. Playing it Cool

**Chapter 2: Playing it Cool**

To no one's surprise, Yaoyorozu was more than happy to take the lead when it came to planning their outing. After a half hour break to let the group rest and change, everyone interested in coming met in the first floor lobby by the door, where Momo was waiting with a bundle of umbrellas that she had made for the occasion. There were eight of them in total- most of the breakfast group had come, aside from Sato, who had decided to take a well-deserved nap after his culinary marathon, and Iida, who, true to his word, was at the dorm's gym. Mina and Toru were glued to the window as everyone else geared up with their rainboots, watching as the downpour continued unabated outside.

"I can't believe it's still going!" Ashido cried, her hands on her hips. "I hope the wind's not too strong, my hair's gonna get ruined if the water gets under my umbrella!"

"Mine too," said Hagakure with an audible pout. "It gets so frizzy, I have to work forever to straighten it again!"

Ashido shot her friend a puzzled glance, and was about to ask the obvious when Momo clapped her hands together and called out to the group.

"Ok, it's 12:30 on the dot! Is everyone ready to go?"

"Actually, on second thought, you guys go ahead without me," Asui replied, her head tilted contemplatively. "This rain is perfect for me to train with my quirk, and I think Koda mentioned needing practice talking to animals during extreme weather. Plus, there's not much that I need to buy right now."

"Aw, if you're sure…" Ochako couldn't hide the look of dejection on her face. "But be safe, okay?" She gave Tsuyu a quick hug, then smiled again. "Don't stay out too long, or Iida will yell at you like he did with Deku!"

Just as the group finished saying their goodbyes to Asui, though, Todoroki Shoto arrived in a modest grey hoodie, giving everyone a soft wave.

"Hey, I think I'll tag along after all. I need to run a few errands anyways."

"Todoroki!" Midoriya rushed over and greeted him excitedly, a wave of relief washing over him. Although he'd bonded a good deal with Shoji in the woods during the training camp attack, the hulking 1-A student was still fairly quiet most of the time, and Izuku hadn't been looking forward to being the only other boy in a group full of girls. They quickly struck up a conversation about the upcoming license exam, one that lasted until they were finally all ready to charge into the thick of the storm.

"So how did you even hear about this, anyway?" Midoriya asked out of curiosity, pulling out his umbrella and starting off towards the door. "I didn't see you at breakfast."

"They kept messaging me about it in that stupid groupchat of theirs until I caved. Or so they think." He shrugged, a shadow of a grin on his face. "I'm really only coming because I ran out of tea this morning."

"Huh? Groupchat? What groupchat?"

Before Shoto could respond, though, Momo threw open the doors, and everyone plunged out into the rain in groups of two or three. The train stop was only a five minute walk away, but as a gust of wind blew a stream of droplets into his side, Izuku began to get the feeling that they'd probably be running most of the way.

* * *

Water was still dripping steadily from Katsuki Bakugo's spiked blonde hair as he waited for his food, tapping his soaked black sneakers impatiently on the restaurant's floor.

"How long does it take to make fucking ramen?" He grunted, a scowl crossing his face. "I'm starving!"

After Kirishima dragged him out of his room earlier, they'd joined up with Kaminari, Sero, and Ojiro to find lunch; since most places weren't offering delivery on account of the storm, the group had ultimately settled on a favorite noodle shop of Mashirao's at the mall. The fact that Bakugo's umbrella had blown away halfway to the train station, though, hadn't done much to improve his mood for the rest of the trip.

"Don't worry!" Ojiro raised up his hands, trying to calm his classmate down before the staff heard him complaining. "It's worth the wait, I promise! I've been eating here since I was a kid."

"Hmph." Bakugo crossed his arms but relented. "They better know how to make it spicy, though. I won't eat any noodles that don't make me sweat."

He sank into a bout of brooding as the others chatted over their cups of miso soup- he'd already slurped his down in one gulp, only slightly regretting the fact that his tongue had been scalded practically numb. _I still can't believe how they were fawning over Deku this morning. They have no idea…_ His thoughts drifted back to his childhood, to memories of how, even at age five, he'd been miles past Midoriya in terms of physical fitness. It had been so easy to push him around, it wasn't even fair. _A twig? More like a fucking leaf. One sideways look and he'd get blown away._ And it was the same story ever since- Izuku had never stopped being a nervous, trembling little twerp. Even with his borrowed power and his borrowed muscles, he couldn't hide the fact that where it counted, he was still fragile. Hell, he didn't even deserve the attention Katsuki gave him with his reminders of that fact. _So why the fuck can't I just stop thinking about him?!_ One of Bakugo's hands curled into a fist, and Sero shot him a concerned glance from across the table.

"Take it easy, Katsuki. Like Ojiro said, it'll be here soon. You want some of my miso? I don't think I'm gonna finish it."

"Don't you tell me to take it easy, tape boy," he grumbled, taking the soup regardless and swallowing it just as quickly as he had his own. "I'm still just pissed about this morning. Fucking Deku." He muttered that last part more to himself than to anyone else, but Kaminari heard him and looked over all the same, concern flashing briefly across his face.

"Hey, I've got an idea. We all need to take the edge off with this license exam coming up, right?" Grinning widely now, he snapped his fingers and pointed to the rack of sake bottles behind the sushi counter. "What do you boys say we do that the old fashioned way?"

"Alcohol?!" Ojiro looked shocked. "Like I said, they know me here, they know I'm not 20!"

"You really think they give a shit, tail?" Bakugo smirked; the more he thought about Denki's idea, the more he liked it. "They're not stupid, they won't turn down our money. Yeah, let's do it. I haven't had sake in forever."

"Wait, did you guys drink in junior high?" Sero seemed surprised as well. "The most I've ever had is one shot of sake and a little champagne at New Year's."

"Did you guys not?" Kirishima leaned forward with a smug expression. "My parents always let me and my friends have some of their beer if they had extra. I can drink Kirin like water by now."

"Same, but I'm more of a Sapporo guy myself," Denki added matter-of-factly as he tried to flag down their waiter.

" _Weak_ ," Bakugo butted in with a chuckle. "I bet none of you have had the hard shit yet. My mom let me try a glass of her Yamazaki whisky for my last birthday, and I sneaked another one when she wasn't looking. The bottle cost almost 20,000 yen."

"Whoa, no fucking way." Kirishima and Kaminari's eyes widened, and he could hear the jealousy in Eijiro's voice. "How did it taste?"

"Fucking amazing, that's how." It was a complete lie- the whisky had tasted like nail polish remover flavored with wood, as far as Katsuki could tell, and he'd coughed until tears were streaming from his eyes after he drained the entire serving his mother had given him in one swallow, despite her warning to sip it. Mitsuki Bakugo had simply laughed the entire time, and even filmed his desperate coughing and inadvertent tears to show her friends, to her son's undying humiliation. Whenever he did poorly on an assignment at U.A.- which was rare, and usually resulted from him forgetting the deadline rather than failing to put in the effort- she never failed to threaten to leak the video to all his friends. The thought of that actually happening was still one of his top three fears, right behind being rescued by Deku and accidentally activating his quirk while jerking off.

Kaminari finally managed to get their server's attention, and despite Ojiro's anxiety about the entire idea, the group quickly decided on splitting two bottles of sake as a table. The waiter gave the students a cursory glance, his gaze lingering on the red-faced Mashirao for a moment, but he nodded and went to fetch the liquor all the same.

"See, Ojiro, it's just like we told you, this no problem at all for a group of guys like us." Denki was trying a bit too hard to sound smooth as he poured himself a shot; Katsuki was about to give him shit for it when he noticed that Kaminari kept shooting obvious glances at something over Bakugo's shoulder as he talked. Twisting around in his chair, he quickly realized that it was a group of 1-B girls at the table behind them who were occupying Denki's attention. There were three of them- the one with the green ivy hair, one with black hair he recognized from the courage test, and Itsuka Kendo, the red-haired class representative and the only one present whose name he could be bothered to remember. None of them were particularly cute as far as he was concerned, and they only seemed to be looking up from their food at the 1-A table out of passing curiosity, but that didn't stop Kaminari from doing what he did best- or at least, what he thought he did best.

"Oh hey, crazy to see you ladies here! Running into each other at the mall- small world, huh?"

"Yeah, it's great to see you guys!" Kendo called good-naturedly with a smile and a wave. "This place must be pretty popular with U.A. kids, I guess."

"So, Shiozaki-san," Kaminari continued, running a hand suavely (he seemed to think it looked suave, at least) through his blond locks as he addressed ivy hair. "We never did get to grab that bite to eat after the sports festival."

"How's Tetsutetsu doing?!" Kirishima blurted out before she could reply to Denki's sad attempt at flirtation, leaning over the table towards the girls with a sharp-toothed smile on his face. "Is he here too?"

"I think he's with Yoetsu and Juzo at one of the sports supply stores on the third floor," said the third girl. "They mentioned something about getting some improvements for 1-B's dorm gym."

"Nice! I'm gonna go say hi before he leaves, don't you assholes touch my food if it comes before I get back!" With that Eijiro booked it out the door; he hadn't been gone for five seconds when Kaminari snatched up his sake cup and refilled his own, then stood up and walked them both over to the girls' table.

"Any of you guys want some sake? We have plenty, it's a really good brand, too!" On the surface he was talking to all of them, but the majority of his attention was still aimed at Ibara, a fact they were all clearly aware of.

"Oh that's alright, I intend on waiting until the legal age to drink," Shiozaki replied courteously, her hands clasped together. "I wouldn't want to risk harming U.A.'s reputation by breaking the law! I have to use the chance I've been given to make everyone proud of me."

There was practically an aura of chastity and humility emanating from the girl; it made Bakugo want to vomit in his mouth. Sero sniggered and leaned across the table, his voice just above a whisper.

"Definitely the worst opener possible. Doesn't he know she's basically the most wholesome girl in the entire school?"

"I'll take it!" Making the most of her friend's sobriety, Itsuka practically snatched the cup Denki had been offering to Ibara out of his hand and drank it all at once; Katsuki was almost impressed, and Kaminari was left looking lost and confused.

"Oh, no problem!" He managed, his cheeks flushed. "Well I'll uh, see you around! We should still get lunch or something sometime, let me know when you're free!"

She nodded politely, but when Kaminari sat back down and knocked back his own cup of sake, he wore a look of utter defeat on his face.

"Guys, I panicked and totally forgot to get her number or anything. How's she gonna let me know even if she does wanna hang out?"

"Serves you right for being a horny dumbass," Bakugo answered with a grin; he was already on his third cup of sake and barely beginning to feel it, with no intention of slowing down at this rate.

"It was a good attempt," Ojiro offered, his cheeks glowing from the alcohol- he'd only had a cup and a half, but it was already clear that he was a bit more of a lightweight. "You can try again for her number when they're leaving."

"So he can fuck up again? We'll see if he has the balls. Now all of you come on and keep drinking while we wait for that little shit Kirishima to get back. Especially you, tail, your first time is always the most important."

* * *

Thanks to Yaoyorozu and Todoroki's leadership, not to mention the durability of Momo's umbrellas, their group made it to the mall intact and mostly dry, aside from Mina, who'd tripped and fallen in a puddle; Midoriya was pretty sure she was still swooning over the fact that Shoto had used his quirk to dry her off on the train over. As soon as they got to the central promenade, though, they ran into the familiar problem of different agendas. Hagakure, Ashido, and Uraraka had been planning to go clothes shopping on the way over, it seemed, and they split off from the main group relatively quickly, leaving the others brainstorming aimlessly for ideas.

"I could show you guys my favorite record store up on the second floor," Jiro finally offered with a shrug. "Well, my favorite one that isn't my parents', that is. They've got a pretty good collection of stuff, and I'm sure it wouldn't hurt the economy _too_ much if Momo practiced making a record player for the common room." She grinned and elbowed Yaoyorozu after that last part, who blushed and went into a stammering rant about the dangers of devaluing antique items with her quirk.

"Sounds fine to me," Todoroki cut in, "I'm pretty sure that's on the way to the tea store that I like."

Shoji and Midoriya were impassive enough that that essentially decided it, and soon enough they'd set out following Kyoka's lead as the five of them weaved through the busy weekend crowds. About halfway there, though, they were passing by a restaurant when someone called out Izuku's name, and he stopped in his tracks to look around.

"Hey, Midoriya! Guys! In here!"

Izuku's face lit up when he looked inside the restaurant and saw Sero beaming back at him. Ojiro and Kirishima and Kaminari were there too, and so was… his smile died a bit. Kacchan was glaring at him with expression that was half shock and half disgust; he gulped and began to backpedal out of instinct, but the rest of the group had noticed by then, and they were all walking inside to greet the other 1-A students, forcing Izuku to do the same.

It seemed that the group of boys had just gotten their food- Denki was in the middle of slurping down several thick udon noodles when he turned to try and greet Momo, and only succeeded in splashing broth on himself in the attempt. Bakugo on the other hand, continued to stare down Midoriya even as the others exchanged hellos, his fist clenched around a small plastic container of chili oil that was aimed at his bowl of ramen.

"Yo dude, I think you might have overdone it with the spice," Kirishima hissed across the table after he finished saying hi to Shoji. Like a spell had suddenly been broken, Katsuki looked away from Midoriya and swore under his breath when he realized he had squeezed essentially the entire bottle into the bowl, muttering something about it being fine before attacking the ramen with his chopsticks and spoon like it was one of his targets during quirk practice. Izuku was quickly distracted by Jiro, though, who was looking wide-eyed at the center of the boys' table.

"Wait, is that sake? Are you guys drinking?"

"Yup!" Ojiro replied cheerfully, and for the first time Izuku realized that aside from Bakugo everyone at the table seemed a bit more happy and at ease than usual; even Katsuki's cheeks were fairly flushed with color, but that might have just been on account of the extra chili oil- he was starting to pant and sweat by now as well. "They didn't even ID us or anything!"

"All thanks to my charm, of course," Kaminari butted in, looking exceedingly satisfied with himself. "You guys want some?" Once again, he was addressing the whole group, but everyone could easily tell that he was mainly talking to Momo and Jiro; he was even more obvious than usual when he was drunk.

Yaoyorozu bit her lip and tapped her foot on the ground, a conflicted look clouding her face.

"I… wouldn't mind, but as class 1-A's vice president, I really shouldn't set an example like that…"

"Aw, come on, it's fine," Sero said with a wave of his hand, pouring out a shot and offering it to her before Denki could reach the bottle. "This place is almost empty, and it's not like we'd rat you out. No one's gonna judge you."

"Do it, do it, do it," Kyoka chanted as quietly as she could manage, pounding softly on Momo's back with one fist, unable to hide a conspiratorial grin. After glancing quickly around the restaurant to make sure no one was watching, Yaoyorozu took the little cup and sipped daintily from it; once she decided it was up to her standards, the sip turned into a single steady pour until she had downed it all.

"Whoa, I never thought I'd see you do anything like that, vice prez!" Cried Kaminari, who had been watched slack-jawed the entire time. "Not your first time, huh? Take another round on me!"

"Bro, we're almost out!" Kirishima complained, sloshing around what was left in the bottle for effect.

"He's right," Jiro interjected, "We don't wanna steal all of your booze, don't worry. But, uh…" She glanced sheepishly around at the others. "If the rest of you guys might happen to want some, I'm pretty sure there's a convenience store that sells alcohol a few shops over."

Everyone was quiet for a moment; Izuku didn't know how to react. His mother had always been too protective of him to offer him anything resembling alcohol, and he certainly hadn't been popular enough at junior high to get invited to parties when his classmates did drink; at this point, he really had no idea what to even think of the concept. Finally, Todoroki was the first to speak up.

"That's… an interesting idea. They didn't ask for your age when you purchased from them before?"

"Well, I, uh…" She blushed and idly twirled one of her jacks around her finger in absentminded embarrassment. "I've never been there alone, strictly speaking. I just know it's always where my parents buy that kind of stuff when we're here. But they don't seem strict."

"It couldn't hurt to at least go check it out," Momo added thoughtfully. "Right?"

"Y-yeah, I guess…" Midoriya stammered. He'd known coming into U.A. that he'd be having plenty of new experiences, but this was one that he honestly hadn't even considered.

"It takes a lot to get me drunk with my body mass," Shoji commented, one of his dupli-arms forming a hand on his chin, "but I can't say I'm opposed."

"Ooh, hate to interrupt, guys, but killer idea here." Kaminari beckoned for everyone's attention, and a small huddle formed around the table. "What if we host a party tonight? You guys get the booze, we go back and get everything set up. It'll be a lowkey thing," he added when he saw Yaoyorozu's look of concern, "we can host it in someone's room or something so the noise doesn't get out of control."

"That sounds amazing," said Ojiro, who was clearly feeling the sake by now, judging from the excitement in his voice. "We'd all get to bond and stuff!"

He had a point, Izuku realized. From the USJ attack and the sports festival to the internships and training camp, the students of 1-A had barely been given any chances to relax or let off steam since the year began- even without the villain attacks, U.A.'s curriculum moved at a breakneck pace.

"As long as I get full control of the playlist, I'm down," Jiro offered.

"Wait, nevermind, cancel the whole thing!" Kaminari cried in mock horror, gripping the table for dramatic effect. "I don't think my ears could take three whole hours of 90s emo music!"

Once she'd finished kicking Denki in the shins for that, Kyoka turned to the group and shot them a thumbs up.

"Ok, if everyone's on board, I guess that settles it. Let's go buy some booze."

* * *

As it turned out, actually standing inside the shop itself, with a fridge full of alcohol looming ominously in front of them, was a lot more intimidating than the idea had initially sounded.

"So… what's the plan now?" Momo asked, her eyes roving over the massive selection of sake, beer, whisky, and half a dozen other types of drink that Midoriya didn't recognize. "They have so much to pick from…"

"I haven't even heard of some of these," Izuku murmured, his eyes wide. "Soju… that's Korean, isn't it?" He picked a green bottle with colorful labeling off of a shelf and eyed it suspiciously. "There are so many flavors, too!"

Jiro's phone buzzed, and she snorted with laughter when she checked the message.

"That idiot Kaminari just texted me asking us to get vodka and tequila to do shots with. Fat chance, I don't want to kill all of you on your first time."

"Let's just stick to the basics," said Todoroki, pulling two six-packs of Kirin out of the fridge and turning to Jiro. "Beer and sake are what people seem to like most consistently here, right?"

"Yep, that sounds reasonable," she replied, her eyes narrowed in thought. "But just to be safe, I think that Momo and Shoji should be the ones to actually make the purchase. Since you two look the, uh…" She coughed nervously, her eyes flitting briefly between Shoji's massive figure and Yaoyorozu's more well-developed feminine assets. "…most _mature_ out of all of us."

"She's right," Mezo remarked impassively, "I've been mistaken for an adult or a pro hero fairly often since I came to U.A., and several clubs and bars in Tokyo and Fukuoka have offered me a job as a bouncer. As long as you can all pay for your shares, it's not a problem."

Once Yaoyorozu gave her assent as well, Kyoka dropped into planning mode again.

"Ok, great. Momo, you get the sake, and Shoji, you handle the beer. Assuming about two thirds of the class shows up tonight, get enough for about fifteen people to drink. The rest of us should probably pretend we're shopping for other stuff so we don't look suspicious."

Everyone quickly agreed on the strategy, and split up to play their parts. Walking alongside Todoroki as they did their best to feign interest in the store's snack aisle, Midoriya remembered his question from earlier with a start.

"By the way, Todoroki, I almost forgot! So what did you mean about a groupchat back at the dorm? I didn't know we had one." After giving the matter some thought, it didn't surprise Izuku that he hadn't been invited yet- from being the last picked for sports to spending his time sitting alone at recess and lunch whenever Bakugo and his friends had something better to do, he was well-used to being excluded socially. U.A. had seemed different so far, but maybe some things never changed.

"Oh, that." Shoto pulled out his phone and opened the messenger app. "Well, I don't think you're supposed to see this, but their mistake for adding me. Ashido and Hagakure made this a few days ago, and it's kind of spiraled downhill since then. I keep it on mute most of the time." He held the screen up to Midoriya, whose eyes widened as he read through the group's information.

* * *

 _Group Name:_

 **Team #IzuChako Forever #SWAG420**

 _Members:_

Ashido Mina (Nickname: PinkyQween) (Online) (Admin)

Hagakure Toru (Nickname: SneakyGirl) (Online) (Admin)

Asui Tsuyu (Nickname: Froppy) (Offline)

Kirishima Eijiro (Nickname: BigRed) (Online)

Kaminari Denki (Nickname: GreasedLightning) (Online)

Yaoyorozu Momo (Nickname: Creati) (Offline) (Muted)

Jiro Kyoka (Nickname: PunkTrash) (Online)

Todoroki Shoto (Nickname: Shoto) (Online) (Muted)

Sero Hanta (Nickname: ScotchMaster) (Offline)

 _Pinned Message:_

 _2 days ago –_ PinkyQween: Hey guys! Me and Toru decided to makes this group because lord knows Midoriya and Uraraka need some help getting their shit together, and we wanted to vent to people about it! Feel free to rant about how frustrating they are, or just post tips for how to get them together so they can stop driving us crazy! –XOXO, Mina – _5 likes_

* * *

Midoriya felt dizzy just thinking about what he'd just read, and his cheeks were well past scarlet.

"I… you all… what?!"

Todoroki's phone buzzed softly, and he switched back to the group's messages screen, Midoriya still watching raptly as the texts came ticking in at a steady interval.

* * *

 _3 minutes ago_

GreasedLightning: pls check for vodka and tequila, a class 1-A shots battle would be so fucking lit – _1 like_

PunkTrash: you'd be wasted after two shots and don't even fucking deny it lmao

BigRed: LIGHTWEIGHTT

GreasedLightning: I'm sitting across the table from u asshole

GreasedLightning: **PunkTrash** we can pick up salt and lime from the grocery store on the way back. Kyoka pls

PunkTrash: I'm not getting tequila dumbass that's how you kill newbies. I don't even think this place has it

SneakyGirl: get the grape flavored soju if they have any! It's so goodddd

BigRed: ooh do you guys wanna hear about how denki got curved into oblivion by some 1-B girls – _3 likes_

PinkyQween: YES PLS AND ALSO YES TO SHOTS

GreasedLightning: NO let's not talk about that ever

BigRed: what will you give me not to tell them denkiboi

GreasedLightning: I'll buy u sushi

PunkTrash: don't listen to him, he'll buy you some cheap supermarket shit and give you food poisoning

BigRed: yup I'm gonna need a bigger motivator than that

GreasedLightning: bro come on don't do me like this

GreasedLightning: how about a back massage

PunkTrash: he'll dislocate your spine

GreasedLightning: I'm actually pretty good at it fyi, people have complimented my skills

PunkTrash: yeah I bet that's what your mom told you

BigRed: if you're so good at it why didn't you use that line with shiozaki

PinkyQween: OH SHIT IT WAS IBARA?

PinkyQween: HAHAHAHA

PinkyQween: Nice try sparky but she's soooo out of your league – _2 likes_

SneakyGirl: omg that poor girl! Is she ok? Do we need to give her PTSD counseling? – _4 likes_

 _GreasedLightning has muted the chat_

PunkTrash: LMAO got him **SneakyGirl**

 _Now_

* * *

"Oh, phew," Midoriya breathed out a sigh of relief. "So they aren't even really talking about me and Uraraka-san."

"Maybe it's best that you don't see the messages from this morning, then," Todoroki replied evenly, opening his keyboard and beginning to type.

* * *

 _Now_

Shoto: If you guys are done, we're mainly getting sake and beer, I think. If anyone has brand preferences text them to **Creati** or to Shoji, if you have his number. – _2 likes_

PinkyQween: ASAHI

BigRed: KIRIN

GreasedLightning: NO FUCK U GUYS SAPPORO IS BEST

Shoto: Did you guys even read my message

PunkTrash: wow couldn't even stay away for five minutes huh **GreasedLightning**

 _GreasedLightning has unmuted the chat_

GreasedLightning: stfu

GreasedLightning: I just got bored of looking at **BigRed** 's stupid face

SneakyGirl: I think you mean you were getting loonnelyyy bc you got rejected by ibara – _3 likes_

 _ScotchMaster is now online_

ScotchMaster: wowww so this is what you guys have been doing on your phones this whole time

BigRed: oh fuck I gotta go

BigRed: bakugo's about to yell at the waiter bc he won't split the check

 _BigRed is now offline_

* * *

Shoto made an amused noise and put his phone away; when they glanced over at the counter, Shoji and Momo were already checking out, and didn't seem to be having too much trouble so far. Midoriya noticed that Yaoyorozu had snagged a bottle of amber whisky as well as the sake, and gulped. _This is all happening so fast. What if I'm not good at drinking? What if I puke in front of everyone?_

"Todoroki… do you have any… advice for drinking? What should I do my first time?"

Shoto blinked, and one corner of his mouth tugged up in a faint smile.

"Midoriya, I've never had alcohol before either." Then the smile died just as quickly as it had appeared. "It's not like I had time for distractions like that in my father's eyes. It would have detracted from my training."

"O-oh." Izuku wanted to kick himself for making an assumption like that. He started to apologize, but then caught himself. _No, what would a hero do? Make him think of the positive, not the negative._ "Well now that you're here with us, we can make your first time really special, right?"

Todoroki looked a bit surprised, but he nodded all the same.

"Yeah, I guess that's right."

Before Midoriya could say anything else, Kyoka gestured from the door for them to join her, and he saw that Shoji and Momo had finished the purchase without incident. Once they were all safely outside with the alcohol, they quickly set to divvying up the numerous bags between the members of the group (though Shoji still ended up carrying the lion's share), and briefly attempted to work out the costs before giving up and deciding to figure the money out later. Loaded down with fifteen teenagers' worth of alcohol, they set off like some sort of caravan back towards the entrance, where Mina's group was already waiting for them.

"I still can't believe how smoothly that went," Kyoka was saying. "I was so worried the guy at the register would recognize me and call us out."

"I still can't believe I let you all talk me into this," Momo said with a nervous chuckle, the bag holding her whisky trailing beside her as they neared the final corner before the escalators. "Let's hurry up and get back to the dorm before we run into…" She trailed off, and along with Todoroki, Shoji, and Jiro, she slowed to a sudden halt as a familiar whistle became audible nearby above the din of the crowds. "…anyone we know."

Shoto reached out to warn Midoriya, but it was too late- Izuku was mumbling to himself about what the party might be like and how a hero should conduct himself at such an event and what All Might say; he didn't notice the others stop walking, or the whistling, or the distinctive feminine laugh that now accompanied it. Clutching a clumsily bagged case of Kirin at his side, he rounded the corner by himself and ran headfirst into Present Mic and Midnight.

* * *

 ** _Hope you all enjoyed this slightly meatier chapter, and Bakugo's perspective! Let me know what you think in the reviews, it really helps! In particular I hope the groupchat sections were up to par, since I know there are tons of good groupchat fics out there._**


	3. Close Encounters

**Chapter 3: Close Encounters**

"Okay, how much do we have knocked off the list so far?"

"Hair gel, check. Shaving cream, check. New leather belts and other accessories, check. Perfume for me and cologne for you, check. Ice cream, check. That looks like everything." A wry smirk on her face, Midnight glanced up from the hastily typed note on her phone that was serving as their guide and met Present Mic's gaze. "But I think I'm gonna add a new item. Let's go get some booze, I'm dying for a wine night."

"I thought wine night wasn't 'til next Wednesday?" Mic stretched his arms beside her, and let out a yawn. "I already invited Shota and Joke and everyone."

"Trust me, I need one tonight too." Determined now, Nemuri nodded in the direction of the nearest convenience store she remembered, shifted the tote bag on her shoulder, and set off through the mall's Saturday afternoon crowds, Mic trailing reluctantly behind her. "I've got to grade forty papers by Monday, and believe me, Zashi, I'm _not_ planning on being sober when I do."

Yamada scoffed at that, but picked up the pace all the same and cracked a grin. His normally gelled hair was down past his shoulders now, and he was wearing a simple hoodie with a colorful band logo across the front, along with a pair of flashy headphones around his neck. She was in civilian clothes too, a simple cardigan and jeans replacing her flashy hero costume.

"I'd join you, but I've got my radio show on tonight starting at eleven, since I had to take off for that patrol yesterday. And I'm pretty sure Shota has dorm watch duty."

"You know I don't mind drinking alone. But maybe I'll call in to your show for the company." She stuck her tongue out at him as they boarded an escalator, then began to smile conspiratorially when a stray idea crossed her mind. "Or maybe I'll invite my dashing future lover. I'm sure such a chivalrous man wouldn't turn down poor old me if I said I _desperately_ needed his help."

"Nemuri, no. We've already had this conversation." Hizashi chuckled and shook his head, massaging the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed in exasperation. "As much as I support you in this, you know that Shota's gonna castrate me if I let you, and I quote, 'corrupt All Might any further'. He's too innocent for you, babe, trust me. I think he'd die from shock if he ever saw your basement." Midnight's ongoing and thus far entirely unnoticed attempts at flirting with the retired Symbol of Peace were a running joke among the U.A. staff, with an active betting pool in place on whether she'd ever be successful.

"Oh, trust me, I wouldn't show him the basement until at least the third date."

"I really don't think you're listening to me here. Me. Balls. Gone."

"Yeah yeah yeah, big deal. Like Shota doesn't have them already." She ducked in time to dodge his playful attempt at a slap, sniggering as they stepped off the escalator and started towards a corner. "You know you love me, Zashi." She made a kissy face in his direction, and they laughed together for a few moments before falling into a comfortable silence. Mic started whistling the tune of an old song with his usual talent, and Kayama was about to start humming along when they Midoriya Izuku whipped around the corner and barreled straight into them.

The rapid muttering under his breath quickly petered off and gave way to horrified silence; his face flushed beet red and his shoulders began to tremble visibly, and Midnight paused before giving him her usual friendly greeting, confused. _What's up with this kid? I'm not showing any cleavage, am I?_ A quick glance down confirmed that she wasn't, but then her eyes drifted to the bag in Izuku's right hand, and the not-at-all well-hidden case of beer inside it. _Oh… well then._ She exchanged a knowing glance with Yamada, who raised his eyebrows pointedly in shock.

"So…" Mic began after a moment of awkward silence. "What are you up to here today, Midoriya?"

"I-I'm so sorry, I d-didn't see you there…" Izuku stammered, his eyes fixed somewhere near their shoes. He was actively trying to hide the bag behind his back, but so far hadn't been very successful. "We were just… I-I mean _I_ was just, uh… shopping for m-my mom, and I, uh…" He trailed off, looking by now like he was about to burst out in tears at any moment. _So there are more of them, huh? I knew he wouldn't just do this by himself, he's not that type of kid._ She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder before she began to speak.

"No need to apologize. I think it's really nice of you to shop for your family like that. Aren't you growing up fast!"

Not a moment later, Todoroki Shoto rounded the same corner at a brisk pace, grabbed onto Midoriya's other shoulder, and bowed to the two teachers.

"Thank you for finding him, he wandered off on us."

A glance up confirmed that Yaoyorozu, Jiro, and one of Shoji's tentacles were trying their best to peek subtly around the corner. An untrained eye would have easily missed them behind the throngs of shoppers, but Midnight had honed her senses for years over the course of her hero work. Shoto yanked at Midoriya's arm and tried to pull him back toward the others, but Mic took a step toward the group and waved enthusiastically, keying his voice back up to the energetic one he used during school hours.

"Hey kids, fancy meeting you guys here! Why are you hiding from your friendly old English teacher?!"

Gradually and reluctantly, Momo, Kyoka, and Mezo all emerged from their hiding place and stepped up toward the others, embarrassment clear on their crimson faces; they were all holding bags of their own as well, beer and sake clearly visible inside. Yaoyorozu in particular wore an expression of utter shame, and bowed low when she reached them, holding her bagged bottle of whisky out in front of her.

"Please forgive them, Midnight-sensei, Present Mic-sensei. It was all my idea, I'm so-"

"It was your idea?" Hizashi cut in. "That's so nice of you! I can't believe that all you guys offered to help Midoriya shop for his mom! She must really love juice, because you sure have a lot of it there."

"Yep, tons of juice." Midnight continued. "And green tea, too. At least, that's what I see."

"You… what?" Now Momo looked utterly lost. "No, this is…"

"Yeah, green tea! She's a massive fan, can't get enough of the stuff. Thank you for understanding." Jiro grabbed one of Momo's hands, a gesture that quickly rendered her speechless, and began to lead the taller girl away, gesturing with others to follow. For a moment Izuku looked like he was about to try and confess as well, but Todoroki and Shoji both dragged him away before he got the chance.

"Hold up there," Mic called after them, twirling at his moustache with a mischievous smile playing about his lips. "You don't think I'm just gonna let you get away, do you?" The students turned back, even more mortified than before, and Nemuri was fairly sure that Izuku was about to faint by the time Yamada continued a few suspenseful moments later. "Not without reminding you that you have a quiz in my class on Monday!"

The group breathed a visible sigh of relief before Todoroki finally spoke up again.

"Thank you for reminding us, sensei. We'll be sure to study hard."

At that, they disappeared down the escalator together; once they were sure the students were gone, both teachers burst out laughing, and after a few moments Kayama was wheezing and gasping for air.

"That was so mean, Zashi, that last bit! I didn't know you had it in you! Guess Shota's rubbing off on you in more ways than one, huh?"

"Oh shut up, you know they deserved it. I mean, that was just too obvious! At least we were sneaky about that type of thing back in the day." They had resumed their steady pace back toward the convenience store, and were nearly there when Midnight stopped short, a sudden revelation hitting her like a thunderbolt.

"Oh god, Mic, Aizawa's on dorm watch duty tonight, you mentioned it earlier. He's gonna strangle them all barehanded if he catches them, I have to take over his shift!"

"Don't you have papers to grade and wine to drink? Just ask Snipe or Ectoplasm to do it instead, I'm sure they wouldn't care."

"Eh, I can multitask." She shrugged nonchalantly as they stepped inside the store, heading straight for the wine aisle as a flush of color slowly spread across her cheeks. "And I don't think you understand, Zashi, this is going to be the peak of their youthful experiences. I _need_ to see this."

* * *

 _"Holy shit."_ Was the first sentence that left Jiro's mouth when they were out of earshot from the teachers, but Yaoyorozu couldn't even begin to form a coherent sentence in response. _They caught us, they know. My life is over, we're all going to be expelled. They were only pretending not to care, they're probably calling Aizawa-sensei right now._ These and a thousand other worried thoughts hurtled through Momo's mind at breakneck speed as the group made their slow descent to the mall's lobby. Behind her on the escalator, Midoriya seemed to be similarly close to a breakdown, and Todoroki was mumbling something about his father paying all of their bail money if they were arrested. Shoji was undoubtedly the calmest out of all of them, but even he seemed slightly rattled, judging by how the eye on one of his dupli-arms kept glancing behind them.

As panicked as she was, it took several long seconds for Momo to notice that Kyoka was still holding her hand, and her face flushed an even deeper red than before. Her fingers twitched involuntarily in surprise before she could stop them, and Jiro made a small, startled noise as she came to the same realization. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and Yaoyorozu began to wonder why her heart was pounding so hard as Kyoka let her go and mumbled out a hurried apology. _I'm still nervous about seeing the teachers. That's all, it's completely logical. It's normal for two girls to hold hands, we're friends, after all. It makes complete sense, so why does it sound so unconvincing?!_ A quick glance around confirmed that Shoji was the only one who had seen their brief exchange, but he remained as silent as ever as they stepped off the escalator and came in sight of Hagakure, Ashido, and Uraraka. The other group of girls was clutching bags of clothes and makeup in comparison to their own haul of beer and sake, and while Toru and Mina had been informed of the purchase via the groupchat, Ochako's eyes grew as wide as saucers when she saw what they were holding.

"What the… Is that… beer?! Did you guys… buy that?!"

"Where's the rum and tequila?!" Ashido asked, distraught, as Hagakure cheered giddily over the sheer quantity that they'd purchased; their reaction only confused Uraraka more.

"Wait, did you guys know they were..."

"Less talk, more walk."

"What she said."

Interrupting the girl before she could grow any more perplexed, Jiro and Shoto barreled ahead and swiftly herded the group toward the exit, glancing about for any further sign of U.A. staff members as they advanced. Setting aside the way her heart had just been fluttering for now, Yaoyorozu couldn't shake the feeling of guilt deep in the pit of her stomach, the knowledge that they'd done something wrong, and she'd supported it. But she pushed that to the back of her mind too, and forced herself to focus on the doors ahead. Luckily for them, the storm outside had finally ended, and the previously heavy rain was now little more than a light drizzle, with bright sunlight shining through the clouds. They made their way back to the station without incident, and the train itself was hardly crowded; the few adults present gave the group little more than a passing glance as they went about their commute, and after a few stops, they had the car to themselves. Ochako, who had rather rapidly come to terms with her friends' purchase after the initial shock, was growing more and more excited about the party with every passing minute, marveling at the bags of alcohol along with Toru.

"This is all so crazy, I don't know how I'm ever gonna pay you guys back! My family can usually only afford the dirt cheap brands, and I've never even been allowed to have any of that. What should I expect?"

"Hmm, how to describe it…" Jiro perched one jack contemplatively on her chin. "It's kinda like… I don't know… being underwater? But your senses are all funny, like, muddled, but in a good way."

"It's best to let her experience it for herself." One of Shoji's dupli-arm mouths piped in, giving the two a brief start. "The exact nature of the sensations differs from person to person, based on their levels of consumption and anatomical differences."

"You've been drunk before too?" Uraraka pouted slightly, and turned to her other side. "Deku, what about you? I'm not the only one who hasn't yet, right?" When it became clear a few moments later that Midoriya was too distracted muttering to himself to notice her, she leaned over and poked him gently on the shoulder. "Deku? You there?"

"Eh?!" Izuku snapped out of his shell with a start, and whipped his head to the left, only to find his face barely an inch away from Ochako's. The two blushed intensely before withdrawing and hurriedly apologizing, as usual; Momo exchanged a knowing glance and smile with Jiro, while Mina pulled out her phone and promptly began to blow up the groupchat.

 _Now_

PinkyQween: NOW KISS – _3 likes_

PinkyQween: LIKE OH MY GODDD

SneakyGirl: CAN THEY PLS JUST GET IT OVER WITH – _1 like_

PunkTrash: don't worry, it'll definitely happen tonight at the party, I'm gonna make sure of it

PunkTrash: we'll play the king game and a bunch of other shit good for getting people together, and we can all collaborate to target them – _3 likes_

 _Froppy is now online_

Froppy: you'll have to be pretty strategic about it, they're the two most oblivious people I think I've ever met – _2 likes_

BigRed: lmao what's going on over there, did you guys get the booze

PunkTrash: yup, but we gotta be more careful about this, we ran into some teachers

GreasedLightning: oh wtf seriously? But u didn't get caught?

PunkTrash: nah it was just present mic and midnight, they were super chill

ScotchMaster: holy crap, y'all got lucky as fuck

BigRed: just imagine if it had been aizawa, chills dude – _3 likes_

ScotchMaster: I would've legit pissed myself – _2 likes_

PunkTrash: my soul would have actually left my body – _2 likes_

PinkyQween: *sees aizawa* _rev up those swords boys, cuz I sure am ready to fucking kill myself_ – _4 likes_

GreasedLightning: _seppuku intensifies_ – _2 likes_

GreasedLightning: btw, u guys on the train? We're on the way back now, had to make bakuhoe apologize to the waiter

ScotchMaster: yea katsuki was being a bitch but it's all good now, want us to get any mixers?

GreasedLightning: holy shit dude he's walking right behind you don't let him see you type that

ScotchMaster: lmao dw he

 _ScotchMaster is now offline_

SneakyGirl: omg

PinkyQween: he ded – _1 like_

GreasedLightning: hELP

 _GreasedLightning is now offline_

 _BigRed is now offline_

PinkQween: o shittt they all ded

Froppy: should we call the police about a potential triple homicide – _2 likes_

PunkTrash: press F to pay respects

PinkyQween: F

SneakyGirl: F

Froppy: what does that even mean?

Momo looked up from the groupchat, which proceeded to go eerily silent for several minutes, and glanced around the car. Ashido and Hagakure were hunched together and giggling about something, Shoji seemed to be meditating, and Todoroki was doing his best to calm down Midoriya by explaining the situation.

"She was trying to ask whether it's your first time drinking."

"O-oh, yeah, that makes sense!" Izuku, glanced back in Ochako's direction, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. "Yeah, it will be. I've never had any before."

"Really? I guess I shouldn't be too surprised." Uraraka smiled, and gave him a thumbs up. "Well at least I won't be the only one having their first time!"

For a brief moment, Shoto opened his mouth to point out that it would be his first too, but the two quickly started chatting, and he gave up in short order. _They're cute,_ Momo mused, listening in on their banter for a few moments. It would be nice to have a class couple, after all- if that was the party's main objective, then surely some bending of the rules right logically be necessary. _Yes, that makes perfect sense. My first duty as class vice president is to the happiness and wellbeing of my constituents, after all!_ She looked back up and made eye contact with Todoroki, who gave her a shadow of a grin before nodding subtly to Midoriya and Uraraka, as if to say _'Can you believe these two?'_ , exasperation clear in his two-colored eyes.

Momo couldn't help but giggle at that, doing her best to cover her mouth daintily with one hand, and found herself blushing a bit; there was a brief a time after the midterm exams when Yaoyorozu had been convinced that she and Todoroki were destined to be the class couple instead, and she'd even written in her journal about how 'devastatingly handsome' he was. But he'd mostly been too preoccupied with schoolwork and his own family troubles to notice, and the intensity of her infatuation had faded somewhat with time. Even now, though, Momo couldn't deny that she enjoyed being around him, or that he was quite attractive. She mustered up the confidence to give him a little wave of solidarity from across the car, but just as he was returning the gesture, she caught sight of Jiro out of the corner of her eye, watching the two of them with an indecipherable expression on her face. Just as quickly, though, Kyoka turned away and struck up a conversation with Toru, leaving Yaoyorozu to puzzle over the gesture until her phone started buzzing again a few seconds later.

 _Now_

 _GreasedLightning is now online_

 _ScotchMaster is now online_

 _BigRed is now online_

 _Tailman has joined the chat_

 _MurderDeathlord has joined the chat_

Tailman: hi, guys!

BigRed: I apologize in advance for this.

MurderDeathlord: heard you fuckers were talking shit

MurderDeathlord: first of all, wtf is up with that gay ass pinned message, our class groupchat is NOT going to be dedicated to deku's nonexistent fucking romantic life

PinkyQween: you joined us bakuhoe, you don't get to complain. Start your own chat if you wanna be like that – _3 likes_

SneakyGirl: but don't come crying back to **Team #IzuChako Forever #SWAG420** when it ends up being just u and kiri – _4 likes_

ScotchMaster: he's pretending like that didn't bother him, but he just kicked a trashcan and yelled at a squirrel, fyi – _2 lkes_

MurderDeathlord: shut your fucking mouth before I use your tape to do it for you

PunkTrash: so did you let denki and sero keep their balls for the crime of talking shit, **MurderDeathlord** – _2 likes_

MurderDeathlord: don't get your panties in a wad, your human Pikachu of a boyfriend can still perform in bed

"My WHAT?!" Jiro shouted aloud, before she launched into typing a series of furious comebacks, even as Ashido and Hagakure laughed hysterically beside her.

 _That's right,_ Momo reassured herself. _She likes Kaminari, everyone's been whispering about the two of them for weeks now. It must be true, why else would she be so embarrassed about Bakugo's joke?_ Somehow, though, the concept didn't reassure her like she presumed it would, and by the time the train finally pulled into their station, her stomach was twisted in knots.

Getting the bags back from the train back inside the dorm actually proved easier than Momo had anticipated; Hound Dog and his security staff were nowhere to be found on the now-sunny Saturday afternoon, probably patrolling near the other end of campus. It was a lucky break for them, but they still made sure to cover the bottles of sake and beer with some of the clothes the girls had bought as a precaution against the security cameras as the group made its way to Alliance Heights 1-A. Even with all the measures they took, it still felt like they were walking on tightropes until the moment they strode through the dorm's front door, and were promptly greeted by Asui, Aoyama, Sato, and Mineta. Tokoyami was visible as well, sulking in the shadows by the stairwell and doing his best to feign disinterest.

Out of instinct, Midoriya moved to hide his bag upon seeing the other students, but Tsuyu quickly dismissed the gesture with a wave.

"Don't worry, I already told them about everything."

"And we're going to help you make the party _tres bien!"_ Yuga proclaimed, a wide smile on his face as he pumped one hand delicately in the air. "I take it you haven't planned much yet? No need to worry, I'll make sure this turns out to be an absolutely enviable gathering, worthy of Versailles!"

"You'll certainly have a seat on the committee!" Momo responded politely, stepping in before Aoyama took over the whole event and turned it into a Parisian masquerade ball, as he invariably would. A small group to plan everything for the night was an idea she'd been toying with on the train back, and there seemed to be no better time than now to implement it. "You can be in charge of the decorations! Jiro, I'll need you as well, for music, and Sato, how about you, for food?" The three quickly agreed to their roles, and she turned back to the group from the mall to see if any of them were interested.

"I can think of some _really_ fun games for us to play," said Mineta, his motives as obvious as usual; Yaoyorozu glanced straight past him and looked to Ashido.

"Mina, how about we have you on games?"

"You betcha!"

No one else seemed particularly invested in joining, but just when Momo was about to call a wrap on the selection process, a loud, squawking voice sounded from the back of the room.

"He wants to join, he wants to join! He won't say it, but he does!"

In the dim light of the stairwell, it took them all a few seconds to realize that Dark Shadow was pointing vigorously at Tokoyami, who had buried his beak inside his cloak in embarrassment.

"If possible…" Fumikage finally spoke up after a few moments of awkward silence, glaring at his quirk's giddy yellow eyes, "I would also like to partake in the music selection."

"Sure thing," Momo replied with a smile, "we'd be happy to have you. Now, let's go up to my room and…" she paused to reconsider midsentence- there was barely any space in her room with its massive canopy bed. "Actually, Kyoka, is it okay if we use your place?"

"You wanna go to _my_ room?" Jiro seemed surprised at first by the suggestion, and once again, slightly flustered. "Well it's a bit messy right now, but if you give me a second to clean it up for you, yeah, no problem!"

As the five of them waited outside her door, they watched Asui and the rest of the mall group use a sudden-death game of rock paper scissors by the couches to decide who would store the alcohol. Ultimately, Midoriya was chosen as the unlucky sacrifice, and a small caravan ferried the precious cargo into his All Might-themed bedroom over the next few minutes, in spite his obvious distress at the development.

Soon afterward, the door to Kyoka's room finally cracked open, and a red-faced Jiro ushered them inside. Judging from the hastily folded sheets on the bed and the barely visible pile of clothes stuffed into the laundry hamper, she'd done quite a bit of last-minute reorganizing, but the room still had the same punk rock aesthetic that they'd first seen during the Dorm King competition. It wasn't necessarily Momo's preferred style of décor, or music, for that matter, but she found it charming all the same. Deciding to waste no time, though, Yaoyorozu took a seat on the floor, produced a clipboard and pen from her arm, and set down to drafting an outline- she was too busy writing to notice the brief look of sheer disappointment on Jiro's face when she didn't choose the bed instead.

"Aright, let's call this first meeting of the Class 1-A Party Planning Committee to order!" She looked up from her clipboard, and flashed them all a bright smile as they formed a loose semicircle on the floor around her. "First on the agenda is a location. The kitchen is out of the question- we'd almost certainly get caught- so we need someone with a room spacious enough to fit everyone. Any ideas?"

"I could of course volunteer my own!" said Aoyama, though they all grew somewhat hesitant to reply when they recalled how much glitter and sparkles Yuga's dorm had. _That might not be the atmosphere people are hoping for…_

"That's certainly a possibility, I'll put it down as an option." Momo jotted down his name, though she made sure to leave room for others. "Anyone else?"

"Sero's has kind of a nice vibe to it," offered Kyoka. "Can't remember how much room he has, though."

"How about Shoji's?" Tokoyami stroked his beak contemplatively. "He pursues an exceedingly minimalist lifestyle, so he has the most space available out of anyone."

"Besides maybe Todoroki," countered Mina, "he installed tatami in his, remember!"

"That's true," Yaoyorozu replied, "but I'd almost feel bad running the risk of getting his place dirty."

"We could always do two rooms." At the back of the group, Sato shrugged nonchalantly. "Sero and Shoji are pretty close together, right? As long as we keep the doors closed and people aren't too loud going between them, it could actually help keep the noise levels down."

"Excellent point, but we'll certainly have to brief people on the rules- I'll take care of that." She circled Hanta and Mezo's names, then moved on to the next bullet. "Alright, so provided that they both agree to host, those two are our top contenders for now. Now on to the next topic, food and drinks. Obviously the latter has mostly been taken care of, but would anyone like to make a contribution?"

"I have a selection of the finest French wines available at your beck and call!" Aoyama declared, suddenly on his feet with a look of pride on his face. "Would you fine ladies and gentlemen prefer a smooth Bordeaux? Or the more oaky Sauvignon Blanc? Perhaps even a dry Merlot? And of course, only the finest cheeses to accompany them!"

"All of those sound great!" Momo responded, genuinely relieved now that she'd included him. "Maybe you can have a sampler for people to try? Most of us don't really know much about wine, after all…"

"Well… I do have some vermouth and sherry I use for cooking that I can contribute, but I'm no expert." Sato gave the group a modest smile. "And of course, I can whip some snacks up for people. Maybe roasted nuts for the beer, and some pretzels too. We can coordinate on what types of cheeses you have with some toast and pepper jam, Aoyama."

 _"Bien, tres bien, mon ami!"_

"Alright, you two can get started on that right after we're done here. Now, games. Mina, I trust you have some ideas?"

"Oh, you bet I do. Just you watch." A devilish grin had spread across Ashido's face, and Yaoyorozu raised one brow in suspicion.

"So… which ones did you have in mind?"

"Wait and see, Yaomomo, it'll be no fun if I give all the surprises away ahead of time! Trust me, they'll accomplish _all_ of our goals."

Momo was hardly comforted or convinced by her argument, but conceded nonetheless, deciding to trust her classmate for the time being. _I'm sure she knows what she's doing, after all._

"If you're sure there's nothing we need to do to help you prepare…"

"Nope, I have it all handled."

"So, music then?"

"Music!" Jiro cried enthusiastically, finally perking up again. Her entire face and body practically beamed with energy as she stood and fetched a speaker and laptop from her desk.

 _Thu-dump._ Momo doubled over coughing to hide how red her face had suddenly turned at the sight of the other girl looking so purely and incredibly blissful, how fast her heart had begun to pound in her chest. _It's nothing. She's just your friend and nothing more, so snap out of it. Concentrate._ She brushed away Kyoka's attempt to help her, but the brief contact between their hands certainly didn't help.

"Yes, music. D-did you have a particular playlist in mind?"

"Um… I was thinking maybe just a soft rock mix from my 80s and 90s playlists, maybe ramp up the energy a little bit over the course of the night. Tokoyami, you have any input?"

"This night is all about consorting together to break the law for our own personal pleasure," Fumikage began in a voice that was half-mutter, half-growl; it was clear that he was trying his best to sound intimidating, but when no one reacted, he gave up halfway through and reverted to his normal tone, blushing intensely. "So I, uh… I think our music should really reflect the darkness of the human soul. And the folly of man's arrogance, of course. I have some playlists that I can share with you, maybe we can collaborate on the final version?"

"Works for me, dude," Jiro replied, doing her best to keep a straight face. "My only two personal rules are no Coldplay and no Nickelback."

"…I may need to edit the playlists slightly."

Soon enough the two were off in a corner hunched over Kyoka's laptop, and Yaoyorozu was about to adjourn the meeting when Mina leaned in toward her, her expression suddenly serious.

"There's one more matter on the agenda that you forgot, boss. It's an important one."

"I did?" A quick glance down to her clipboard confirmed that everything was crossed off. "Are you sure?"

Ashido cleared her throat, pulled out her phone, and opened her Snapchat: the newest story on her feed was a beaming selfie from Iida Tenya, depicting the bespectacled class rep giving a friendly thumbs up with the U.A. gym in the background and one towel over his shoulder. _Another successful training session at my school's top-tier physical fitness facilities!_ The caption read. _Today, I logged 135.8 kilometers, with an average pace and heart rate of…_ It continued with his statistics and personal input on the quality of the gym for the entire bottom half of the picture.

"We need someone on 'distract Iida duty'," Mina said flatly. "And don't even start about giving everyone a chance to join in, you know he'd shut this down and report us."

"That's… true." Momo admitted hesitantly, a bit of the guilt she'd conquered earlier resurfacing. _It's going to hurt to have to deceive him like this, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and we've come too far now to turn back._

After a brief debate among the committee members, they decided to randomly select two designated 'distractors', who would swap out duties over the course of the party in one hour intervals, with additional food compensation from Sato once their assignments were complete. Omitting the members of the committee apart from herself, Yaoyorozu produced a bundle of sticks from her forearm, each one already inscribed with one of her classmates' names. After tossing them around in a bowl, she and Kyoka each drew one at random. When Kaminari and Hagakure were chosen for the role, Momo's conscience wouldn't let her decide whether she was relieved or regretful that she'd been spared.

As the sun dipped below the horizon outside the window and the sky began to turn pink and gold, everything was falling neatly into place, and even the stream of profanities flowing back and forth between Bakugo and Jiro in the groupchat couldn't dampen Yaoyorozu's excitement. At the stroke of eight, she knocked on Izuku's door to fetch the alcohol, and gave him a friendly smile when he opened it.

"Ready to throw a party, Midoriya?"

* * *

 _ **Sorry for the long wait on this one! Hope you guys appreciate this diversion from the perspectives of our two main characters. I thought I was gonna get to the party this chapter, but the setup was a lot more fun than I expected. Get ready for things to come to a head next time, the next update will come much sooner than this one since it's winter break! Also, would you guys be at all interested in a spinoff chapter dedicated to the teachers' wine night? As always, let me know what you think!**_


End file.
